


Desire for Light

by Giraffic_Park



Series: Darkness and Light [1]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aged-Up Peter Parker, Anal Sex, Barebacking, First Time, First Time Blow Jobs, M/M, Oral Sex, POV Third Person Limited, Peter Parker standing up for himself, Sex Pollen, angsty, first time anal sex, wanted it but not like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-05-29 14:18:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19402045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Giraffic_Park/pseuds/Giraffic_Park
Summary: Peter and Tony have an unexpected encounter in the botany lab.Notes: I've added a couple extra years betweenSpider-Man HomecomingandAvengers: Infinity Warfor age-up purposes.





	Desire for Light

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chickfury](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chickfury/gifts).



Peter's back hit the wall. He nearly lost his breath. It hurt a little, but nothing he couldn't handle. Hell, he'd slammed himself into walls harder than that swinging around the city. Not something he made a habit of, it just happened sometimes.

Something was up though.

"Um, Mr. Stark, what - what's going on? Did I forget something? I put all the slides away like you asked." Was Mr. Stark angry at him? He couldn't imagine why.

"You did fine. No problem," Mr. Stark said as he pressed Peter's shoulders to the wall.

"Oh. That's good. Thanks." Still weird though. But maybe a good weird? Peter felt a zip of electricity down his spine.

"How old are you, kid?"

Mr. Stark didn't know? He'd always known before. Usually to tell him he was too young for something. Maybe that was why. Maybe he was old enough now.

"I - uh - I turned eighteen six months ago. How old are you?" He paused. Then, "Wait - why did I ask that? Nevermind." _Way to go, Peter. You're gonna re-lose this internship._

"Good," Mr. Stark said. "Good." Then he bent his head and kissed Peter before he could really understand what was happening. And he kissed him hard. Harder than he'd been kissed before. It nearly bruised his mouth.

This wasn't his first kiss. It was his first kiss with a guy - so that part was new. And it was definitely his first kiss with someone super experienced.

And maybe high.

When Mr. Stark drew back, staring at him, Peter asked, "Are you okay?"

"Sure. Totally fine. Why do you ask?" Mr. Stark didn't seem to have noticed anything happening at all.

"Oh, I don't know. Just, you're acting a little weird."

Mr. Stark frowned. "I'm not weird."

"But you kissed me."

"No I didn't."

It was Peter's turn to frown. "Yes you did."

"No I didn't," Mr. Stark insisted.

Rather than push the point, Peter kept quiet. Clearly something was going on. He just needed to figure it out. Mr. Stark was sometimes a little flighty, but not so much that he wouldn't remember something he'd done five seconds ago. That was a serious stretch.

In the meantime, Mr. Stark was standing really close. And the air in the room felt much warmer. Heavier. What was that about?

Mr. Stark's breathing was heavier too. Peter could see his chest rising and falling. Like he was really excited about something. Peter couldn't figure out what might be that intriguing. Surely not their research from today. Who gets super stoked about watering plants and stuff? Well, okay, someone probably does, but it didn't seem like the sort of thing that would get Mr. Stark all worked up.

"So, uh, Mr. Stark -"

"Call me Tony."

Now Peter knew something was up. "Okay, Tony -" that was weird, "- um, you can let me go now, yeah?"

Tony shook his head. "I kind of like you right here. This works for me." He tilted his head, then slid one hand beneath Peter's shirt. Tony's fingers were cool against Peter's warm skin. It made him shiver.

"Um, Tony -" nope, still weird, "- what are you doing?" Peter asked. He was fascinated and a little excited. This was new. And confusing. He'd kind of only had one sort of girlfriend once. And they hadn't really done much. So this type of attention was a little overwhelming.

Tony blinked at him. Instead of answering, he kissed Peter again.

When he drew back this time, he said, "You are a good looking guy, kid."

"Uh - thanks?"

"You know, there's something weird going on here." Then Tony pressed a finger to Peter's lips. "Don't tell me -" Tony seemed to lose his train of thought and turned his attention to pushing Peter's shirt up his chest. "You've been working out."

"A little. It helps with climbing walls and longer swings on the webs." Peter had no idea why he felt the need to babble things like that. Maybe Tony made him nervous.

No - that was it. Tony - Mr. Stark - made him nervous. He was an Avenger. And he saved people. And stopped bad guys. That was a lot to measure up to.

There was also that thing where Tony had that cool facial hair. Peter barely needed to shave. And the way Tony wore his clothes. Everything seemed to drape on him like it was meant to be there. Most of Peter's clothes just fit okay or were too big so he could wear them longer. And he never looked nearly as good in a suit as Tony.

Why was he making all of these comparisons? He was supposed to be figuring out why Tony was acting weird.

Peter looked up to try to get a read on Tony. "Your eyes have this really subtle gradient, you know that?" he asked and reached a hand to trace a finger across Tony's goatee.

One of Tony's eyebrows arched up his forehead.

"Sorry, I don't know why I said that. You're just really hot."

That made Tony grin. And it was the most devilish thing Peter had ever seen. It may have actually made Tony hotter.

Peter moved his hand to the collar of his shirt and began tugging it over his head. Half certain Tony would stop him.

Instead, he felt slender fingers brushing his skin. It made him shiver again. He dropped his shirt on the floor. When Tony leaned in and traced his tongue around Peter's nipple, Peter jerked his head back, knocking it against the wall. His left hand found its way into Tony's hair, holding that warm mouth against his skin.

Suddenly, he wanted more. He didn't know what the 'more' was, just that he wanted it. Clearly, so did Tony. Tony's hand had made its way to Peter's crotch, rubbing him through his jeans.

A sound rolled out of his chest. No one had touched him like that before. And it never felt like that when he touched himself. "God -" he moaned, his hips rocking up into Tony's hand.

Peter heard Tony groan. He didn't know what that meant, but he knew Tony was still touching him. And it still felt really really good.

He gripped Tony's shoulders. Fingers holding on while pressure built in his groin.

Tony growled, then leaned in to kiss Peter again. Just as Peter was really getting into it, Tony pulled away and sank to his knees.

_Oh shit._

"Um, Tony..."

Tony peered up at Peter, then unbuttoned his jeans. Peter watched as his jeans were opened and Tony's hand disappeared inside them. Tony's fingers on his bare flesh were much warmer and far more intense than they had been through his clothes. Peter thought he was going to crawl out of his skin.

He reached for Tony's shoulder again for balance. When Tony drew out Peter's cock and took it into his mouth, Peter's grip tightened. He heard the soft grunt from Tony's throat.

Tony pulled back. "Careful, kid, I don't want bruises." Though it didn't stop him from returning to his task.

"Yeah, but, um - ohgod - I um -" He took a deep breath and tried to speak again, to no avail.

"Oh damn - you haven't done this before, have you?"

Peter tried to deny the truth, but Tony was having no problem reading him. Resigned, he nodded in response. Denial wasn't going to help.

"It's okay. Everyone starts somewhere," Tony said.

The grin he flashed at Peter was wicked and delicious. Then he took Peter's cock in his mouth again. Slowly sliding his lips along the length. Letting his tongue brush against the underside as he went.

"Tony -" Peter moaned and let his head thunk against the wall again, because that felt damned _good_.

He really wanted to watch. Maybe learn some things. But the sensations on his skin were too much - in a good way. It was all he could focus on. Even when he engaged his enhanced senses, all he was getting was how good he felt with Tony doing _that_ with his tongue.

The unmistakable rush of sensation up his legs toward his groin caught him by surprise. He tried to warn Tony, but was a microsecond too late. He came in Tony's mouth. Peter thought Tony would be upset with him, but he didn't seem to mind, other than having to spit into a nearby wastebasket.

"Yeah. It's okay. We'll work on it," Tony said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

Did that mean Tony wanted to do it again? Peter was so confused by this whole series of events. And by why he wasn't pushing back more. He - well, he liked Tony (was calling him that ever not gonna sound weird?) - a lot. Probably more than a lot. He'd like to pretend he hadn't jerked off to pictures of Tony. And he'd like to think he was too smart to get involved with someone who wasn't so good at relationships (and who sometimes hit on his aunt - which felt sort of creepy for Tony to do in front of him). But he was apparently stupidly attracted to this guy.

A few years ago it was definitely some really deep hero worship. Now that he'd actually been working with Tony - in a real internship, not the one he'd made up to explain why he couldn't do regular kid stuff - he realized that under all that ego and bravado, there's a really _really_ smart guy. A guy who gives a shit about his friends and cares about people.

Peter hadn't even known Tony had a botany lab at the compound. And he certainly hadn't had any idea that Tony knew enough about botany to do any of the research. It had been awesome to stand over a microscope and talk about cells and other things they could see.

On top of all of that, Tony gave a shit what happened to him. Not a lot of people did that as often as he probably needed them to. Sure, Aunt May and Ned, maybe even MJ more recently, but even they didn't always pay attention (and sometimes he hid things from them so they wouldn't know, but that's another story). Only Ned knew about Spider-Man. Even though Peter frequently found it super irritating, Mr. Stark - Tony - looked out for his well-being. Telling him to not do big heroic things before he was ready and telling him when to bow out of a fight. Peter never liked it, but looking at some of those things now, Tony was probably (okay, definitely) right. And Peter appreciated the hell out of that.

The same way he appreciated Tony's mouth on his throat right now. That moved into wanting to kiss him. To touch him. To taste his skin. "Tony," he moaned.

"I'm going to do things to you you've probably never imagined," Tony growled and took a step back.

Peter made a sound he might describe as a whimper. He wanted Tony pressed against him. He wanted to push his fingers through Tony's hair and kiss him. But - why did he want that so much more now than he had yesterday? What had changed so suddenly?

"Patience, kid." Then Tony started stripping out of his own clothes.

The sound Peter made this time was a surprised and excited little 'meep'. Tony Stark was stripping. Right there. In front of him.

"You want me to stop?" Tony asked and Peter could only numbly shake his head.

Something was still super weird about all of this. He couldn't quite pin down why though. His head was all fuzzy. And his skin was warm and tingly.

Reaching out a hand, Peter grazed his fingers over the scar on Tony's chest. "Does any of this feel weird to you?"

"Maybe? I mean, you haven't touched that before," Tony said, pointing to his chest.

Peter scowled a little. "I didn't mean that. I meant all of this. Us. You and me and being naked. And, oh man. I want to throw you to the floor and taste every inch of your skin." And he really did want to do that, but he wasn't sure why he was telling Tony that.

Tony's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah - just got a little weird." It didn't stop Tony from lifting Peter's hand to his mouth and sucking his fingers.

"Uh -" Watching Tony do that was really hot. He wanted Tony to do more. But he was half-paralyzed with just this new sensation. His legs felt like they were turning to rubber. "Tony -"

Peter found himself pressed against Tony's naked chest, then kissed roughly. He melted into it, hardly able to keep himself upright. Clinging to Tony's back so he wouldn't slide to the floor. He was still sure something strange was going on, but he was starting to care much _much_ less.

In mere moments, he was sprawled on the floor, his jeans and shorts whisked away, Tony hovering over him. Naked. "Oh god," he breathed. He reached to touch Tony's skin again. "Did I pass out?"

Tony laughed. "For a second. But you're okay."

"And naked."

"Right. Are you mad about that?"

Peter shook his head. Though, part of him thought he really should be. He was naked with his mentor and, sort of, boss, and that was usually not done, right? But, oh man, everything felt so good.

He reached for Tony and pulled him down to kiss him. That also brought Tony's entire body into contact with his. Lean, strong lines and firm muscles Peter could feel through slightly scarred skin. He could also feel Tony's erection against his leg. It sent jolts of electricity zipping through him.

He ground his hips up against Tony, seeking more contact. The sound he heard from Tony made him do it again. It felt good - really good.

Hands on his hips - Tony's hands on his hips - then a few swift, strong motions and Peter was on his hands and knees. His eyes went wide when he felt Tony's fingers rubbing lube on his hole. Where had Tony gotten lube?

"Oh - oh man -"

"New to this too, huh?"

"Uh, sorta." He wasn't explaining that.

Tony didn't seem to want to know anyway. In fact, it was like he had a one-track mind and no distraction was going to tear him away.

Peter felt his body relaxing into the sensations. They made his body shudder in anticipation, and he could tell his brain was losing focus fast.

"Mmm, Tony... wh-why - why are we - oh my god," he moaned, his brain all but melting out his ears as Tony pushed the head of his cock into him. It hurt a little, but he couldn't find enough brain cells to really care, because, at the same time, it felt absolutely amazing.

Tony's hand rubbed up and down his back. "Easy kid," he whispered. "Push back at your own pace. I'm not trying to hurt you."

"Just to fuck me," Peter said without thinking.

"Well yeah. That's pretty obvious with my dick in your ass."

Peter rocked his hips back a bit. He could feel Tony sink a little further in. Peter's eyes rolled back. "Fuck," he breathed.

Tony moaned and gripped Peter's hip. Then rubbed his hand along Peter's back again. Peter pushed back. Then more. Maybe faster than he should have, but his higher brain functions were being overridden by baser instincts.

Peter felt Tony's fingers bite into his skin. It made him want all of this more. "Now, Tony. Now. Do it now," he panted.

Microseconds passed before Tony began to move his hips. Peter braced his hands and knees on the cold floor and settled into everything he was feeling. Tony thrust into him and it sent sparks across his skin. He was warm and hard. He wanted to touch himself, but the power of Tony's movements affected his balance.

Despite his spider-enhancements, his arms were getting worn out. Thighs too. He dropped to his elbows for better support. Tony growled behind him and thrust harder. "Oh god-" he moaned toward the floor.

Tony didn't say a word. He just kept fucking him. Peter relaxed as much as he could and waited for Tony to finally come inside him. Then they both collapsed.

Peter's cock was still hard beneath his belly. But he didn't have the energy to do anything about it. He did really like the feel of Tony's body resting against his though. Tony was leaner and stronger than he'd realized. It made the man even sexier.

He wiggled his hips with the little energy he could cobble together and heard Tony groan in his ear.

"Not yet, kid. Gimme a minute."

"But -"

"What the - Tony? What are you _doing_?" Someone else had come into the lab. Peter couldn't see them, but the voice was familiar.

Peter lifted his head, trying to look over his shoulder. Dr. Banner was on the stairs leading into the lab. Was that good or bad?

Peter buried his face in his half-folded arm and pretended not to exist. He somehow managed not to groan a complaint when Tony rolled off him.

"Hey, Bruce!" Tony said cheerfully.

"Hey, Tony. What the fuck is going on?" Dr. Banner's voice was tight, but had a mock chipperness to it.

"Just working down here with the plants."

Dr. Banner was quiet a moment. "You realize Peter isn't a plant, right?"

A pause. "Yup."

"And that you're not really supposed to fuck anything in the lab."

"What? I fucked Peter." Tony seemed so nonchalant about it. More than usual even. Peter kept his face buried in his arm. This was so embarassing and still so very weird.

Dr. Banner was quiet again. Then he said, "Which plant did you touch, Tony?"

Tony giggled. That made Peter lift his head to give Tony a very confused frown. He had never heard Tony Stark _giggle_. Ever.

"Tony -" Dr. Banner snapped his fingers to get Tony's attention. "Come on. Show me."

The two disappeared from Peter's immediate view. He reached out a hand to gather his clothes. Then, discretely tried to slide back into them. They were wrinkled and dirty at this point, but they kept him from being naked in a lab full of plants.

"Tony! That's an alien plant that's supposed to be in quarantine!" Dr. Banner growled. They were around the corner, so Peter couldn't see what plant they were discussing.

Peter glanced in that direction, but kept his focus on getting his clothes back in order.

"Sorry, pal. I just brought it down to the lab," Tony responded.

Dr. Banner sighed. "Come on. We'll get the two of you into the decon shower." He waved for Peter to follow.

With a sigh, Peter left his clothes half on - and his shoes entirely behind - and made his way to the decon shower. He stripped and stepped inside with Tony and Dr. Banner.

"What was that, Dr. Banner?" Peter asked.

"I'm not sure yet. But it must have had a mild toxin that lowers inhibitions or affects the pleasure centers of the brain. Whatever it was, let's not touch it again -" he slapped Tony's wandering hand, "- until I have a chance to evaluate it."

Peter shook his head. "But I never touched it. I came down after T- Mr. Stark did."

Dr. Banner looked pensive a moment. And smacked Tony's hand away again, admonishing him like one would a particularly obnoxious child. "There may have been transfer from Tony when he touched you."

Peter's eyes went wide and he twisted around trying to look at his ass. "Am - am I going to have alien plants growing out of me?"

"Probably not." Dr. Banner glared at Tony, clearly communicating that Tony had done something remarkably boneheaded. "Finish up in here, then I'll find you some clothes."

Peter was about to protest, but realized his clothes may have been contaminated as well. He spent a long time in the shower. Maybe longer than was necessary, but he wanted Tony to leave first. It didn't work out that way because Tony turned off the water and dragged Peter out with him.

Wrapped in a big, fluffy, blue robe, Peter followed Tony to another room in the compound. Looking around, he saw that the walls were stone and there were wood benches along three walls. "Why are we in the sauna?"

"So we can warm up." Tony stretched out on a bench, his robe dipping open in a few choice places.

Peter sat on one of the other benches and leaned back, closing his eyes. This was still strange, but he thought his head was starting to clear a little. Some of the pieces were falling into place.

Pieces he could focus on as long as he didn't look at the unashamedly half-naked Tony. He remembered what Dr. Banner had said. Then he remembered Tony touching his lips with his fingers. That was probably when the alien plant toxin transfer had happened.

He sighed and tried to relax. This was going to be weird still. He'd essentially fucked his boss while under the influence of - something. The truth was, he probably would've done it anyway. No. Not probably, definitely. He liked Tony - a lot. Maybe more than a lot.

Why was his head still so foggy?

Dr. Banner came back with some meds for them to take. And some new clothes. Peter took a long, hot, regular shower, letting the water and the steam help clear his head.

Clean and warm and less foggy, Peter stepped out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair. Maybe he was naïve for thinking Tony would've been waiting for him. Not in a sexy way, but in a mentor sort of way. He was a little disappointed it didn't happen.

He tossed the towel into a hamper on his way out of the room. Heading down to the kitchen, he'd get a sandwich or snack, then find something to do. Dr. Banner had told him no one was allowed back into the botany lab until it had been scrubbed and neutralized. That meant he didn't really have anything to do for his internship.

He could work on his homework, but his mind was too busy with other thoughts. Maybe he could try to think those other thoughts in Spanish and it would be good practice, but he didn't know some of the words. And, he was afraid he might say some of those thoughts out loud in class by accident. Better to not do that.

While Peter was eating a ham and cheese sandwich, he felt someone join him. He looked up and saw Tony standing by the coffee maker. "Oh, hey," he said.

It took Tony a couple seconds to respond. "Hey, Peter."

"Um, so - maybe we should talk about what happened in the lab."

"Why? Nothing happened. It was an alien plant that made us do things. And now it won't." Tony scooped grounds into the filter.

Peter blinked and slid off the stool. He stepped around the bar. "Tony..." and it was still weird for him to address his mentor that way, though maybe less so now, "...it wasn't nothing. It did happen. I have bruises on my hips and knees as proof."

Tony seemed to shy away entirely from the conversation. Concentrated on putting the coffee together. He faced Peter and said flatly, "Sorry, kid, it didn't mean anything. It was sex influenced by a plant." He held up his hands as though to shrug it off.

Peter felt his throat catch. Had that been all it was to Tony? Just, essentially, drunken sex? He wasn't going to fall apart. Not here. Not in front of Mr. Stark. But, he did need to say one thing. "Maybe that's all it was for you. But not for me." Then he left the kitchen. Left Mr. Stark there alone.

It was a long, lonely walk back to his room. He tried to ignore everyone along the way. That even worked until Ms. Romanov asked him what was wrong.

"Nothing," he said and tried to keep walking.

She followed him and leaned in the doorway. "That doesn't look like nothing."

Peter shrugged. "Just having a bad day. I'll be fine."

"Want me to beat someone up for you?" she asked him with a soft grin.

He half-smiled back. "No, but thanks." He settled on the bed and dragged out a book.

"Let me know if you change your mind." Then she disappeared from the doorway.

His homework was super exciting - in all the ways that it failed to be exciting. He spent a whole two minutes reading before his mind wandered back to the conversation in the kitchen. It didn't track for him, but he couldn't pinpoint why. Mr. Stark was typically sort of standoffish, but had he seemed more so this time? Or more exaggeratedly so?

He shook it off. He was spending too much energy on it. He tried to get back into his coursework.

Peter switched out his history reading for chemistry formulae. He started off with homework, then shifted to reformulating his web fluid. It gave his mind something nice and complex to focus on.

That was, until someone came into his room and closed the door. Peter looked up as Mr. Stark was flipping the lock and was immediately sent back to that first time they'd met. Mr. Stark had talked to him like a person. Maybe not quite like an adult, but at least like he wasn't stupid. That had been really nice.

Rather than give the man any of his attention though, Peter went back to his calculations. He didn't want to talk to someone who could so casually brush off his feelings. There were enough people already who tried to make his life suck.

"Pete-" Mr. Stark said quietly, "- wanna talk to you about what happened."

Without looking up, Peter replied, "Do you mean the sex you're pretending _didn't_ happen or when you told me to fuck off?"

"That's fair," Mr. Stark said. "Both, really. But mostly the second. Though, incidentally, I didn't tell you to fuck off."

"Close enough," Peter muttered under his breath. Then he put his notebook aside and stood up from the bed. "You stood there and told me none of it mattered. That it didn't mean anything because we were under some plant influence. Like I was some nobody you picked up in a bar." He took a deep breath. "I'm not nobody. Even if you don't feel anything, you don't have the right to treat me that way. Now, I have a lot of homework to do, so you can go." He folded his arms over his chest and tried to hold a bit of eye contact.

Mr. Stark was silent a moment. He moved to sit on the end of the bed. "You're right. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

Peter's brow furrowed. "I - um - what?"

"I'm sorry," Mr. Stark said. "It was rude. And I should have more respect for your feelings."

Peter smirked. "You ran into Ms. Romanov on your way up, didn't you?" He wanted it all to be sincere, but the rejection still stung.

"How'd you - you know what, nevermind. Look, I'm trying to apologize here. And I kind of suck at it."

"You don't even know what you're apologizing _for_ ," Peter snapped. "You just came in here hoping to say 'sorry' and everything would be good. It's not. You. Hurt. Me."

Mr. Stark stared at him for several seconds. "I'm confused here. Hurt you - physically?"

"Are you really that stupid?" Peter growled, suddenly afraid he was out of line. "Do you even have feelings? Know what they are?" He wanted to keep yelling. To get it all out of his system. Only, he wasn't sure there was an 'out'.

"Pete -" Mr. Stark began, then paused long enough to take several breaths. He started to speak a couple times, but couldn't seem to get words to form.

Peter sighed. "You should go."

"You're kicking me out?"

"Now you find your voice?" Peter shook his head. "Just go."

"No, Peter. I came here to apologize. So that's what I'm gonna do. I'm sorry. I - I was too blunt in the kitchen."

That wasn't really helping at all. "So you're sorry you were rude and sorry that we fucked and that's all?" He watched Mr. Stark's face. "I like you. I probably shouldn't based on this conversation alone. But I do. And I can't change that. Even if I try. What I _can_ change is how much time I spend around you. I love this internship and I'll finish what I committed to, but after that, I can't promise I'll be back."

"You're quitting?"

"No. I'm finishing the current one." But he did notice Mr. Stark wasn't really hearing him. "And you can just go since you don't even care." He settled on the bed and dragged his homework back into his lap.

Twenty minutes later, he looked up to find Mr. Stark still sitting at the foot of the bed. Peter chose to ignore him and focus, instead, on the next bit of his homework.

He was a little sad about leaving the internship, but he felt really good about the decision. It was good for him, everyone else be damned.

"Hey, kid," he heard Mr. Stark speak, but decided not to look up. "Peter... can you just look at me here?"

Reluctantly, Peter looked at Mr. Stark.

"Hey - I'm - I could just tell you I'm not good at this, because I'm not, but that really doesn't matter. What matters is - I feel shitty about what I did. I feel like I took advantage of you."

"It was the plant," Peter said flatly.

"Yeah. Maybe mostly. But I'm pretty sure there needs to be some underlying - something there for the plant to influence." Mr. Stark looked uncomfortable.

Peter's brow wrinkled. "Are you trying to tell me you're attracted to me or _something_?" He wanted it to be true. Despite knowing it would be a little awkward under the circumstances and given the age gap.

"I don't know, Pete, but I do know that even if I am, I can't do this right now. You need to finish school -" and he gave Peter a very pointed look that said very clearly that no other option was acceptable, "- and my relationship with Pepper is - it's complicated and I'm not sure what's going on there at the moment, and I need to figure that out. All of that to say - you're an attractive man, Peter, but the timing sucks and I can't."

Peter wanted to ask why this couldn't have been the original conversation, but he didn't want to start another argument. "Fine," he said, still flat, and turned back to his homework. He wasn't really doing any of it because his throat hurt and his vision was starting to blur.

"Fine? Just - are you okay with this?"

God, he was insufferable. Peter sniffled and shook his head. "I'm not. But I'm not going to change your mind."

There was an awkward silence where nothing seemed to happen. Then Mr. Stark said, "Am I supposed to bring you ice cream now or something?"

Part of Peter wanted to laugh, but this wasn't really funny. He shook his head again. "No. You can just go. I have some homework to finish."

Another pause. "Want help?"

"No thanks. Good night, Tony."


End file.
